Wash fountain



Jan. 1, 1957 H. H. LOGAN 2,775,774

WASH FOUNTAIN Filed May 18, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

#0014 A. Loan/v H. H. LOGAN WASH FOUNTAIN Jan. 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed May 18, 1953 INVENTOR. l/l/GH H. L 064M United States Patent2,775,774 WASH FOUNTAIN Hugh H. Logan, Pasadena, Calif.

Application May 18, 1953, Serial No. 355,701

Claims. (Cl. 4-166) This invention relates to wash fountains and moreparticularly to wash fountains of a type to be employed in industriallaboratories for washing acids, chemicals, dust and the like from theface of a person accidentally exposed to such contaminating materials.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a novel wash bowl andspray head means which is capable of thoroughly wetting the face of anindividual in order to lessen the chance of loss of eyesight anddisfiguration caused, for example, by acids, explosions, fumes, heat,chemicals and so forth.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a wash fountainof this type in which the spray is so directed that it will not exertany appreciable pressure directly into the face of the user therebyeliminating the possibility of contaminating material being drivenfurther into the persons features.

Another object is to provide a bowl for such a fountain shaped in amanner whereby water spray which would normally be splattered indifferent directions on striking a persons face is substantiallyprevented from splashing out of the bowl or from splashing back onto thespray heads thereby preventing contamination of the spray heads andother parts of the person outside the bowl.

Still another object is to provide a bowl of such shape that should thedrain for the bowl become plugged, contaminated water collecting in thebowl will overflow before reaching the spray heads.

Other objects of the invention are to provide novel spray head meanscapable of issuing copious amounts of water over a considerable area toprovide a wide Water path, the water throughout the whole path beingejected under substantially the same pressure.

These and further objects of the invention are attained by providing abowl shaped member having elevated opposite sides which are inwardlydirected towards each other with their upper edge portions spaced asufficient distance to receive a persons head. Nestled within eachinwardly turned elevated side is a suitable spray head comprising anelongated element having spray holes distributed along its length. Eachof the spray heads is individually supported under its correspondingelevated side portion and is suitably spaced from such side portion soas not to be contaminated by water splashing off such areas. Theelevated side portions however are adapted to overlie the spray headsand thus protect them from dirt or dust falling vertically towards thebowl. The

edge portions of the bowl between the elevated curved side portions are:cut to a level lower than the level of the spray heads whereby shouldthe drain for the bowl become plugged water will flow out of the bowlbefore reaching the level of the spray heads.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by referring to theaccompanying drawings in which:

. Fig. 1 shows in perspective a preferred form of wash fountain designedin accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the bowl and supply pipes of the wash fountainshown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the spray head;

Fig. 4 is a View partly in section of a longitudinal portion of thespray head;

Fig. 5 is a detailed view partly in section of the bowl and spray headportions of the fountain;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the piping arrangement in thebase pedestal of the fountain shown in Fig. 6.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the wash fountain is shown as comprising abowl 10 having a lower outlet drain 11 and suitable supporting brackets12 for securing the fountain to a side wall. Bowl 10 contains two sprayheads 13 and 14 supplied with water under pressure through a suitablesupply pipe 15 passing through a control valve 16, connecting pipe 17,and to branch pipes 18 and 19 connected to the spray heads, as clearlyshown in Fig. 2. Valve 16, being mounted in the supply pipe 15, willcontrol water fiow to both spray heads simultaneously. This valve isoperable by rotational movement about a horizontal axis of a bat-winglike actuating handle 20. This large bat-wing handle 20 enables the userto find it easily and rapidly notwithstanding that he may be temporarilyblinded by the accident which he has suffered.

In Figs. 3 and 4 there are shown detailed views of the spray head 14.Since the spray heads are identical, description of one will sufiice forboth.

As will become clear as the description proceeds, it is desirable thateach spray head eject a wide path of water at substantially uniformpressure throughout. In order to accomplish this, the spray head 14 isconstructed in the form of an elongated cylindrical tube including aplurality of diagonally arranged openings 30. As shown best in Fig. 4,these openings 30 are arranged in three parallel oifset rows along thewhole length of the tube 14 but are confined within a cylindricalsegment of perhaps 30 degrees facing upwardly and outwardly to provide aspray path of given depth.

This spray is caused to be ejected at substantially the same velocity atthe end portions of the tube 14 as at the center portions, by providingwithin the tube a baflie plate 31 in the form of an arcuate segment of acylinder positioned parallel to the axis of tube 14 and over the opening32 from the supply conduit pipe. This arcuate baffle plate has a radiusof curvature such that a crescent-shaped cavity 33 is formed between theouter surface of the bafiie plate and the inner surface of thecylindrical tube 14. The bafiie plate is provided with a plurality ofopenings 34.

When liquid enters the tube 14 through the conduit opening 32 under agiven pressure, it will first fill the crescent-shaped cavity 33 beforeany appreciable amount can escape through the openings 30 in tube 14. Agood. portion of the liquid will also enter the main portion of the tubethrough the openings 34 in the baffle plate. The openings 34 are of suchsize however as to constrict the liquid flow by breaking up its velocityand preventing it from directly passing out through the openings 30 inthe immediate vicinity of the conduit opening 32. The flow is thuschanneled towards the ends of the tube 14. Under these circumstances,once the tube 14 is completely filled with liquid the pressure ejectingthe liquid from the openings 30 at the extreme longitudinal end portionswill be substantially the same as the pressure ejecting the liquid fromthe central openings thereby insuring a uniform pressure along theentire length of the spray head.

Referring now to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the bowl 10 includes twoopposite, upwardly and inwardly extending sides 50 terminating in upwardedge portions which hitting the heads.

the spray heads in the position shown places them at a are flared backto provide smooth curved surfaces 51. These elevated inwardly extendingsides together with the intermediate edge portions of the bowl, defineundercut cavities in which are disposed the spray heads 13 and 14respectively. In this connection, a feature of the present invention isthe shaping of the elevated side portions 50 in a manner to extendinwardly towards each other a sufficient distance to overlie the top ofthe spray heads 13 and 14 whereby dust or dirt falling vertically on thewash fountain does not strike the spray heads themselves but will becaught by the upper edge portions 51.

A supporting means 52 serves as a conduit connection to the pipes 18 and19 respectively for admitting water to the spray head and also serves tosupport the spray heads in spaced relation to the inwardly curved wallportions of the elevated sides. Supporting the spray heads in thisspaced relation will prevent water which may splash off the insidesurfaces of the sides 50 from It is also to be noted that supportinglevel above the intermediate edge portion 53 of the remaining sideportions of the bowl whereby should the drain 11 for the bowl becomeclogged, the bowl will overflow before the water level reaches the sprayhead. This unique construction eliminates the danger of any backsiphonage or cross-connection and thus provides a fountain that fullymeets all known industrial hygiene recontamination regulations,plumbing, and sanitary standards.

As described in connection with Figs. 3 and 4, each spray head willeject a path of water of uniform width and at uniform pressure. Theheads are so positioned that the spray of liquid ejected therefromfollowing a parabolic path, reaches its highest point at a locationlower than the upper edge portions 51 of the bowl, yet higher than thelevel of the spray heads themselves.

The positioning of the head and the pressure of the water is controlledso that the vertical velocity of spray ejected from the fountain issubstantially zero at a lo cation within the bowl where the eye of aperson would normally be positioned when his face is placed in the bowlfor washing purposes. Thus, the spray head 13, for example, will ejectspray which will have neutral or zero vertical velocity at the point Xas shown in Fig. 5, while the spray head 14, ejecting spray in theopposite direction, will provide for a substantially neutral or zerovertical velocity at the point Y, the points X and Y corresponding tothe location of a persons eyes when his head is disposed over thefountain. This feature eliminates the possibility of the ejected spraypushing any acids or other chemicals into the face or eyes of theperson. In other words, the spray will hit the eyes and other regions ofthe front part of the face substantially tangentially thereby washingout the chemicals.

The spray heads 13 and 14 and the unique shape of the elevated sidewalls 50 are also arranged so that water splashing off a persons facewill not strike the spray heads, unless directed exactly in theirdirection, but rather such splash will more likely strike the elevatedside walls 50 and adhere to the inside walls subsequently running downsaid walls into the drain. The inwardly curving feature of the walls 50presents a steeply slanting surface such as to minimize the resplashingof water off these walls onto the spray heads, thereby preventingcontamination of the spray heads.

In Figs. 6 and 7 the wash fountain is in all respects identical to thewash fountain shown in Fig. 1, with the exception of the various supplypiping and actuating handles. In Fig. 6 the wash fountain is arranged tostand on a pedestal 60 rather than be secured to a side wall. In thisembodiment the water supply is controlled by two independently operatingvalves 61 and 62 the latter valve being shown in the exploded view ofFig. 7. Vertically disposed actuating rods 63 and 64 are rotatable abouttheir vertical axes by bat-wing handles 65 and 66 respectively. Eitherone of the valves 61 or 62 may be opened by rotating the appropriatebat-Wing to the phantom line position as shown in Fig. 6. The provisionof tWo such handles oppositely disposed permits the fountain to bereadily used when approached from either end.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the two spray heads are supplied by a conduit67 coupled to the spray head 68 through a coupling pipe 69 and a conduit70 similarly coupled to the spray head 71 through a similar couplingpipe (not shown). The valves and various supply piping are housed in thelower portion of the fountain by a base covering 72. As shown in detailin the exploded view at Fig. 7 the main supply source of water enters apipe 73 branching off by means of a T-coupling 74 to the valves 61 and62 by connecting conduits 75 and 76 respectively. The two actuatingvalves 61 and 62 are thus in parallel. The outlet sides of these valvescome together in a T-coupling 77 connecting to a branch conduit 78intermediate to the supply pipe 70 supplying the spray head 71 and tothe supply pipe 67 for supplying spray head 68. It will be clearimmediately that operating either of the valves 61 or 62 will supplyliquid to both of the spray heads 68 and 71 simultaneously and underequalized pressure.

By means of the present invention it will be seen that there is provideda greatly improved wash fountain which is designed to gently spray alarge volume of Water in what amounts to a neutral pressure in avertical direction thereby thoroughly wetting the face and forestallinga loss of eyesight and disfiguration caused by acids, explosions, fumes,and other similar accidents.

1 claim:

1. An eyewas'h fountain comprising, in combination: a bowl having atopposite sides two walls inclining upwardly and inwardly towards oneanother and merging into opposed lip portions spaced from one another toaccommodate the face of a user therebetween, a pair of water spray headsmounted in said bowl underneath said upwardly and inwardly inclinedWalls in spaced relation to said walls and to the sides of the bowl soas to avoid contamination by fall-out from the atmosphere and by waterrunning down the inner and under sides of said walls to the sides ofsaid bowl, said spray heads being adapted to eject a multiplicity ofindividual water streams toward the central region of the bowl inupwardly and inwardly directed arcs.

2. An eyewash fountain comprising, in combination: a bowl having atopposite sides two horizontally elongated upwardly projecting wallshaving portions inclined upwardly and inwardly to one another to upperlip portions spaced from one another by a distance to accomrno date theface of a user, said walls forming two gen erally semi-cylindricalcavities facing horizontally toward one another, a pair of elongatedhollow water spray heads located in said semi-cylindric cavities inparallelism therewith, and in positions spaced from said side walls andbeneath said inclined portions of said walls to avoid contamination byfall-out from the atmosphere, valve controlled water supply pipingconnected to said spray heads, and a plurality of water spray orificesdistributed lengthwise along said elongated spray heads along the upper,inner regions thereof, in such arrangement as to discharge from eachhead a multiplicity of streams in inwardly and upwardly directed arcs.

3. The subject matter of claim 2, wherein the means supplying water tothe heads is adjusted relative to available water pressure such that thewater streams from the two heads attain the uppermost points of theirrespetr tive arcs at points spaced substantially eye-distance apart,whereby the water streams impinge on the eyes substantially tangentiallyand with substantially zero vertical velocity.

4. An eyewash fountain comprising, in combination: a bowl having atopposite sides two walls inclining upwardly and inwardly towards oneanother and merging into opposed lip portionss paced from one another toaccommodate the face of a user therebetween, and a pair of water sprayheads mounted in said bowl underneath said upwardly and inwardlyinclined walls in spaced relation to said walls and to the sides of thebowl so as to avoid contamination by fall-out from the atmosphere and bywater running down the inner and under sides of said walls to the sidesof said bowl, said spray heads being adapted to eject water streamstoward the central region of the bowl in upwardly and inwardly directedarcs.

5. An eyewash fountain as defined in claim 4 in which the bowl has anend wall including an upper edge portion disposed at a level below thatof the spray heads so that the water in the bowl will overflow beforethe water level therein can reach said spray heads, whereby to preventback-siphoning of water through said spray heads.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS366,780 Love et al July 19, 1887 1,121,667 Ross Dec. 22 1914 2,482,960Benson Sept. 27, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 100,258 Germany 1898

